The AF-S of the Nikkor is awesome accurate and fast, the sharpness at 2.8 ist incredible and the contrast at 2.8 is fantastic!

The Nikkor AF-S 2.8/300mm works great with the TC14E (=> 4.0/420mm) and the TC17E (=> 4.8/510mm)!
The results with the TC20E (=> 5,6/600mm) are pretty good, but not at the high level of the TC14E and TC17E.

Mar 2, 2015

blackadmitOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Oct 14, 2013Location: N/APosts: 0

Review Date: Oct 14, 2013

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharp, robust, fast focus ... it's Nikon !

Cons:

A little bit to heavy

This a good focal for sport shooting. Very responsive. No Vr ? it doesn't matter ... I use a gimbal head bk-45. Still good with a TCEIII ( 300mm to 600mm).

Ive used it for Air-Shows and it works perfect, also with extenders. (I used 1.7x)

Aug 9, 2010

Gary CoyleOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jul 23, 2005Location: United KingdomPosts: 1009

Review Date: Mar 31, 2010

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Super sharp and super fast AF

Cons:

None

Simply stunning and super fast and sharp

Mar 31, 2010

jordanwdOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Dec 15, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 358

Review Date: May 13, 2008

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

I have the II version i- it is a very fast , accurate focusing lens w/ great colour, contrast and sharpness. Its sharp at f2.8 but i prefer it at f3.2 for ultra sharp images. Its a light weight lens for a f2.8 prime and the only one of the bigger primes which i find easily hand holdable. The bokeah is very smooth. It works well w/ the 1.4 tc..very sharp at f4 but surprisingly insanely sharp at f5 or f5.6. Its a fantastic lens!

Cons:

none...when i got it it was right before the VR came out so there was a 800.00 rebate from nikon on the lens!

May 13, 2008

avfotoOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Mar 12, 2007Location: SpainPosts: 5

Review Date: Mar 13, 2007

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: Not Indicated
| Rating: 10

Pros:

Sharp wide open.

Cons:

None.

I got this lens for soccer when I did it and the delivered photos were amazing.

Now I use it in my wedding work when I can not move so much and I am still amazed.

Review of the new Nikon 300mm AF-S f2.8 IF-ED G VR (no review slot for this lens, nor most new Nikon lenses)

It is far more compact than I had imagined (I have previously owned a Nikkor 300/2.8) and the latest incarnation seems far shorter in length, I think some Japanese designer has been active with a hacksaw on the hood or it's a trick of the eye with the main lens barrel being so fat.

Weight wise it does seem far lighter in weight, but I know this is solely because I'm now used to lugging a 600/4 around and that this is a better balanced lens (a badly balanced lens can feel twice as heavy than it really is)

Tripod foot seems minute compared to my bigger lens... and it was removed very quickly (half hoped it would weigh a fair bit, but it's removal didn't shed too many grms). The facility to remove the whole collar was attractive until I realised that I'd lose the lugs for my optech shoulder/neck-strap... so that remains.

This lens was purchased for no other reason than for a handheld VR lens with teleconverters... though my ambitions have gone no further than the 1.4x and 1.7x.

This is an extremely portable lens. In use today, it did not feel any worse than my old 80-400mm VR lens. When taking a shot, it feels very well balanced with most of the weight towards the camera end (helped by a hefty D2x)

VR seems far more responsive and rapid in kicking-in than the 80-400.

AF is very rapid... but most USM/HSM/AF-S lenses are, and the main questions these days revolve around the camera side of the AF equation.

What I had presumed to be nothing more than 4 AF lock buttons on the lens barrel (as with my 600/4) turn out to be multi purpose, the most useful purpose being that a press on any of them will take you straight to a preset focus point (excellent)... unfortunately, if you're handholding the lens, it's not always easy to loacte one of them with your fingers.

Lots of sliding switches on this lens, most are just a waste of space really.

300mm + TC-14E = as above, no visible loss of any aspect of the above... even wide open at f4.

300mm + TC-17E = A major (and pleasant) surprise to me. Wide open at f4.8 there was no significant degradation to the image, just very minor softening. at f5.6 we were back to images all but identical from the bare lens.

The success I had with the TC-17E has even had me wondering about the dreaded TC-20E... Though, deep down, I know I should stick to my original plan.

I honestly haven't noticed a huge improvement in image quality when I have had this lens atop form support with VR switched off.

I'm delighted with the lens... turns out to be far more hand-holdable than I dared hope for and the results are superb, even out to 500mm. Added bonus in not having to find some dedicated camera luggage for it

I recently switched from Canon to Nikon. I switched b/c of the 200-400 VR lens. However, I also want a comparable range from Nikon so I picked up this lens as well. Mine is the AFS I version. I am glad that I decided to get this lens.

IT IS SUPERB!

The lens focus speed is as fast and as quiet as Canon's counter part. I used to own the 300 2.8L USM. In my mind and for my application, when it comes to lens selection, Nikon has finally caught up to Canon!

This 300 2.8 AFS is simply outstanding. Sharpness is second to none. Built quality is superb. When mates with the 17E TC, this lens is amazing even at wide open (f/4.8)! With the D2X, I get an effective FL of 1020mm! For low light and handheld applications, this lens is perfect.

Is there anything else I miss from this lens? Well, maybe VR but I have that from my 200-400.

Dec 21, 2005

TraumkindOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jan 13, 2005Location: United StatesPosts: 0

Review Date: Jun 22, 2005

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $4,500.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

excelent quality, both image quality & built. very solid, handling.

Cons:

keep in mind that size and weight is significant compared to "standard" lenses.

I use this lens for yeards now and it simply is the best quality Nikkor lens I have ever owned in the last 20 years. The image quality is extremely high, brilliant and tack sharp. The amount of detail I can get for this lens is supassing all other 300 mm lenses I owned (I had three, sold them all). If you look at Nikon's homepage you will find that this lens has the best MTF chart of all lenses.

The AF speed is lightning fast. It litterally jumps into focus, not only with a pro camera, but I also tried it with a D70. The fast AF is one of the key things for lenses in that range. There is no use in a 300 mm lens if you miss the action because the AF can't keep up. It is amazing to shoot action with this lens at 8 frames per second and find every shot is in focus.

Of course I got both the TC 14 and TC 20 with this lens. Both TCs work very well with it. With the TC14 I couldn't see any difference in quality/sharpness. I'm sure there is one and in lab condition tests you would be able to measure it, but in every day shooting it just doesn't show. The AF is almost as fast, I could hardly feel any difference.
With the TC20 the image is a little softer compared to shots without any TC but it is still very good. The only way to get better quality at 600 mm would be the 600/4 Nikkor or a 400/2.8 with a TC14. Both are much more expensive alterrnatives.

Despite all the technica things the lens also handles very nice. I use it handheld a lot and found it very useable that way. It sure it heavy and there is no way you can use it in a way you handle a 70-300 lens, but considering the weight it is quite useable handheld.

Beside the wildlife thing I use it a lot for portrait.

Beautiful lens that is very much worth it's money. I don't miss the VR as I never use it in conditions where I need long shutter times.

Jun 22, 2005

GSteeleOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jul 27, 2003Location: United StatesPosts: 7665

Review Date: Feb 17, 2004

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $4,000.00
| Rating: 10

Pros:

This is a fast super sharp edge to edge telephoto lens. It provides probably the smoothest bokeh of any of Nikons telephoto primes. Extremely fast autofocus which is a pleasure to have for fast moving action.

Cons:

This lens is light enough to be handheld and would benefit from having VR added to it.

This is my favorite telephoto lens for all around use. It is extremely sharp with no CA. The autofocus function which I use for fast action shots is like a bullet. In manual focus it dials in quickly and accurately for those stills. It still takes sharp photos with the 1.4x TC.

Feb 17, 2004

Terry DOfflineImage Upload: Off

Registered: Jan 12, 2003Location: United StatesPosts: 6661

Review Date: Apr 4, 2003

Recommend? yes |
Price paid: $4,700.00
| Rating: 6

Pros:

This is a super all around lens. It's light, sharp and fast focusing. I really like the rotating tripod ring too. When used with the Nikkor 2x it is still at very workable f-stop.

Cons:

I'm just still not crazy about ANY auto focus... I trust myself more than the camera, any day

I had a 600 f4 Nikkor, but I just couldn't tote it around any more.... so this has become a viable compromise .... weight vs focal length. With a matched multiplier, the image quality is still excellent in my opinion. I also have an externally rotating drop-in polarizing filter which I find to be a great addition to this lens, although I don't find myself using it a great deal.